-
U.S Constitution
Only people born in the U.S. or people who were adopted by U.S. citizens were considered citizens. Article IV allowed the qualifications of a citizen to be different depending on the state one was in. National citizenship was also dependent on state citizenship. -
Dred Scott VS. Stanford
Dred Scott a former slave tried to sue his former master. Scott claimed that since his former master brought him to free territory he was a free man. Chief Justice Taney concluded that African Americans slaves or not were not citizens of the United States. -
Period: to
End of the Civil War
The Republican party created new white-dominated governments to restrict the rights of former slaves -
Civil Rights Act of 1866
Congress passed the Civil Rights Act declaring that all people born in the U.S. or brought to the U.S. are national and state citizens of the United States. This also determines that race does not impact citizenship. -
Voting
Even though many have gained citizenship, they did not gain the right to vote. Children, Adult women, and people of color did not gain the right to vote until much later.